Carton closing machine



Oct. 27, 1959 H. J. MUMMA CARTON CLOSING MACHINE F I E 1 Y 1 v nm E t .OU N T R h N. o s SEJ v w m m A m m S SH 9 Filed July 26. 1955 Oct. 27, 1959 H. J. MUMMA 2,909,880

CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Filed July 26. 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE NTOR HAROLD J. MUMMA waif ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1959 H. J. MUMMA 2,909,880

CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Filed July 26. 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 I ge J INVENTOR HAROLD J. MUMMA BY le 44 ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1959 H. J. MUMMA 2,909,830

' CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Filed July 26. 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 -FI|3 E:

INVENTOR HAROLD J. MUMMA ATTORNEY 1959 I H. J. MUMMA 2,909,880

CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Filed July 26. 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 17 I I3 IEI use I58 I62 I58 firm 2 24 i62. I60

Isa 156 92 --59-- INVENTOR HAROLD J. MUMMA .3 E BY ATTORNEY Oct. 27,1959 H. J. MUMMA CARTON CLOSING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed July 26. 1955 F'II3 12 lll W as 88 8 TIE| 1EI mvzm'on HAROLD J. MUMMA a 7 m B Z //W b 4 o 5 5 0 4 2 4 l M. M, 4 7 B 9 4 8 1| a b 2 w 6 a 5 TE 8 2 lil b H H H d M 2 u I38 AH-H l l ATTORNEY United States Patent CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Harold J. Mumma, Riverside, Calif., assignor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application July 26', 1955', Serial No. 524,356 20 Claims. (c1. 53-377 The present invention relates to machines for closing cartons. More particularly the present invention relates to machines for closing cartons designed to hold parallel rows of eggs and made from papier-mache.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for closing cartons of the type referred to, that is of simple construction.

Another object is to provide a rapidly y'et dependably operating carton closing machine of the type referred to.

Another object is to. provide a carton closing machine, of the type referred to, that is smooth in operation so that it does not endanger the eggs contained in the cartons.

Another object is to provide a machine for closing cartons having corresponding apertures and projections in their covers and bodies, respectively, in such a manner that said projections and apertures will dependably interlock.

sprockets 32a and 32b are mounted upon a transverse shaft 36 which may be the drive shaft of the conveyor. Both shafts are rotatably mounted in the side panels 381: and 38b of abase frame 40. Along their upper edges said side panels carry lateral guide bars 42a and 42b for the cartons travelling on conveyor 20. Arranged above conveyor 20 near the trailing end thereof is a carton magazine 44 from which empty cartons are dropped upon the upper run of the conveyor, and suitably secured to its chains: 28a and 28b at appropriate intervals are trans verse impeller members 46 that engage the trailing side of the body 48 of cartons deposited upon the conveyor and advance them toward the transversely extending conveyor- 26. As the egg cartons travel upon conveyor- 20 from the trailing to the leading end thereof, they may pass underneath mechanisms (not shown) which deposits eggs into their pockets, such as the mechanism described in my copending patent, application Serial No. 400,466 for Machine for Handling Eggs filed' on December 28,

The carton for which the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings is designed, is illustrated in Fig. 2 Itis made of pa'pier mache and it comprises: the hereinbef'ore mentioned body 48 which has the form of a tapering tray that has a slant ing front wall 50, a slanting rear wall 52 and two end walls 54. and 56, and which forms twoparallel rows. of

Another object is to provide a carton closing machine Fig. 2 is a perspective of the egg carton for which the machine of the invention is designed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of the carton closing machine viewed from a point in front and somewhat above the machine.

Figs. 4 to 9 are fragmentary perspectives illustrating consecutive stages in the operation of the machine.

Fig. 10 is a cross section taken along line 1010 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a cross section taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 12, is a cross section taken along line 12-42 0 Fig. 6, with the carton in a less advanced position.

Fig. 13 is a cross section taken along line 13-13 of Fig. 7, with the carton in a less advanced position.

Fig. 14 is a cross section taken along line 14-14 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 15 is a cross section taken along line 15-15 of Fig. 9.

The machine of the invention comprises a feed conpockets 58 that are divided'by a center partition 60. Each pocket row forms individual pockets 58. Hingedly secured to the upper edge of rear wall 521 is the slanted rear wall 62 of the above mentioned cover. which has also a slanting front wall 64' and two end walls 66 and 68 corresponding to the front and end walls of the ear-- ton body. The front wall 50 of the carton body 48 is provided with an outwardly turned lip 70 that forms on its underside adjacent its. outer edge projections or protrusions 72 and 74 which are adapted to enter into interlocking engagement with corresponding apertures 76 and 18.. provided in the slanting front wall 64. of the carton cover adjacent the inner corner thereof when the lip 70 has. been turned upwardly into an inwardly slanted posi tion'. and the cover 24 is closed fully upon the carton body 48.

Reverting to Fig. 1, after a carton on conveyor 20 hasbecn filled, with eggs, the conveyor 20 pushes it, with its cover 24in backwardly folded trailing position, upon the hereinbefore. mentioned transversely extending conveyor 26., The conveyor 26 is formed by a suitable end less canvas belt or a chain belt 80 as shown in the draw-. ings that is trained about rollers 82. In Fig. 1 only the roller 82 at the leading or discharge end of conveyor 26 is shown. This roller is the drive roller of said conveyor veyor 20 (Fig. 1) that delivers cartons 22 filled with eggs upper run of the chain belt to provide proper support for said run. To safely retain the filled cartons upon conveyor 26 the upper run of chain belt 80 may be flanked at either side by guide bars a and 90b that are held in; inwardly slanted positions, parallel to the downwardly converging planes of the front and rear walls 50 and 52, respectively, of the carton body 40, by means of brackets 92a and 92b that are mounted upon and rise from the topportion 89 of the base frame 88, as. shown in Figs. 3 and 10 to 15. One end of the hereinbefore mentioned shaft 84 protrudes through and beyond the side panel 86a of frame'88 and its projecting end carries a pulley 94 that derives power from a suitable source of rotary power, such as, they electric motor 96, by means of an endless belt 98.

As soon as an impeller member 46 on conveyor 20 has pushed a carton filled with eggs onto the upper run of chain belt 80 beyond the ends of the lateral guide bars 42a and 42b, the chain belt 80 which is in continuous operation during performance of the machine, takes hold of the carton and advances it in a direction at right angles to its previous direction of movement, with its cover 24 in reclining condition and projecting in a direction laterally of the chain belt 80 and with its end wall 56 in leading position. As the carton advances in this manner means enter into operation that swing the carton cover about its hinge line 99 from its reclining position into a substantially vertical position. For this purpose a camming rod 100 of shallow S-shaped conformation (Figure 3) is supported from the base frame 88 adjacent the hinge line side of conveyor 26, i.e., the left side as viewed in the direction of the carton advance, by means of suitable standards 102 and 104 in such a manner that as a carton advances on the chain belt 80, its reclining cover slides over the initial portion 106 of said rod. Said initial rod portion 106 is arranged to slant from a point laterally removed from the hinge line side of the conveyor toward said conveyor at a level above the level of the hinge line of the carton as best shown in Fig. 4. As the reclining cover on the advancing carton comes against the initial portion 106 of rod 100 while the carton is retained upon the conveyor belt 80 by the guide bar 90a on the opposite side of the belt, the carton cover is cammed into an upwardly directed position as shown in Figs. 4 and 10. To prevent that the carton be tilted laterally, as its cover comes against the initial portion 106 of the camming rod 100 and to provide an abutment about which the cover may be folded, a disc 108 is rotatably supported from the base frame 88 above the carton travelling on the chain belt 80 in such a position that its bottom edge overlies and engages the top edge of the rear wall 52 of the carton body adjacent the hinge line 99 of the cover. As shown in Figs. 1, 4, and the disc 108 may be supported by a bracket 110 that is secured to the side panel 86a of the base frame 88 and which forms an arch, over the chain belt 80, that is sufiiciently high to permit a carton body filled with eggs to pass unhindered underneath. To prevent entanglement of the disc with the end walls of the carton cover as the cover swings into the upwardly directed position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 10, the disc 108 is preferably mounted in a position wherein its plane slants away from the hinge line 99 of the carton cover as shown in said Figs. 4 and 10.

The center portion 112 (Figs. 1 and 3) of the S-shaped camming rod 100 extends above and substantially parallel to the guide bar 90b at the hinge line side of the chain belt 80 and is effective to maintain the cover in upwardly directed position. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings said center portion 112 of camming rod 100 is relatively long to provide time for an inspector to check the contents of the carton before the cover is closed down upon the carton body.

The terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100 is bent to extend diagonally across slightly more than one half of the width of chain belt 80 and slants downwardly to an extent that is effective to lower the carton cover to a level wherein the edge of its front wall 64 reaches the level of the lip 70 of the carton body when said lip is in the upturned position illustrated in Fig. 12. Hence, when a carton advancing on chain belt 80 with its cover in upright position encounters the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100, the cover is progressively cammed downwardly upon the carton body into a semiclosed condition as illustrated in Figs. 5, 11 and 12. Lest the carton be dislodged from the chain belt 80 as its cover is acted upon by the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100, a bank of four roller discs 116 is arranged above the chain belt 80 along the center line thereof at such an altitude that their edges engage the crest of the center partition 60 of the carton travelling on the chain belt. The rollers 116 may be pivotally supported between two elongated plates 118a and 118b that are supported from the side panel 86a of the conveyor frame 88 above and in vertical alignment with the center line of the chain belt 80 by means of two L-shaped brackets 120 and 122, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. To hold the carton dependably upon the chain belt 80 while its cover is closed upon the carton body by the extreme end portion of the camming rod 100, the plates 118a and 1181) may carry between their downstream ends an extension 124 whose bottom edge 126 is aligned with the nadir sectors of the rollers 116 and whose top edge 128 slants in a direction substantially parallel to the slanting plane containing the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100. v

As the cover of a carton travelling upon chain belt 80 is bent into semi-closed position in the described manner by the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100, while the carton is held in proper position upon the belt by the rollers 116 and the plate extension 124, the outwardly turned lip 70 on its front wall 50 encounters a cam in the form of a gently rising twisted bar 130 that is supported from the top portion 89 of the conveyor frame 88 and which bends the lip 70 gradually into an upwardly directed position, as shown in Figs. 5 and 11. As the leading portion of lip 70 slides past the twisted bar 130 in almost upright position While its trailing portion is still engaged by said bar, the leading portion of the lip 70 encounters a bank of four consecutive roller discs 132 that complete the bending of the lip 70 to an extent wherein said lip slants in a direction inwardly of the carton so that the slanting front wall 64 of the carton cover may readily be closed upon the lip. The first of rollers 132 which is individually identified by the sufiix letter a in Figures 1, 3, 5, 6, 11 and 12 is arranged for rotation about a vertical axis adjacent the right edge of the chain belt 80 in such a position that its inner segment contacts the lip and raises it fully into vertical position (Fig. 12)

and the succeeding three rollers 132b, 1320 and 132d are mounted for rotation about axes that incline increasingly toward the chain belt 80, and are located at points progressively closer to the path of the carton on said belt. Hence, as the carton advances on chain belt and its lip 70 encounters successively said progressively inclined and inwardly displaced rollers 13211 to 132d, its lip 70 is bent inwardly until the last roller 132d bends it practically into contact with the protruding upper ends of the eggs in the outer pocket row, as shown in Fig. 13. The rollers 132a to 1320. are pivotally mounted in their proper position upon a bar 137 that flanks the right side of the chain belt 80 and which is suitably supported from the top portion 89 of the conveyor frame 88. To prevent that the carton may shift laterally upon the chain belt 80 while the lip 70 on its front wall 50 is acted upon by the rollers 132a to 132d, a bank of three rollers 138 is mounted upon the top portion 89 of the frame 88 for rotation about vertical axes adjacent the left side of the chain belt 80 in such a manner that the peripheral edges of said rollers engage the rear wall of the carton advancing on said chain belt along the hinge line thereof, as best shown in Figs. 12 and 13.

When the lip 70 of the carton has been turned inwardly to the described degree, the carton cover may be fully closed over the carton body. Hence, as the leading portion of the carton moves past roller 132d, its cover which emerges from underneath the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod encounters the first of a bank of five rollers which are collectively identified by the reference numeral 140 and which are disposed above the chain belt 80, along a diagonal line, for rotation about transverse horizontal axes (Figs. 1, 3, 6, 7 and 13). Having reference to Fig. 13 the first of rollers 140 which is individually identified by the suffix letter a is placed sufiiciently far inwardly from the right side 'of the chain belt 80 (as viewed in downstream direction) to be encountered by the aaoasso leading front corner 142 of. the semi-closedcover on. the carton emerging/from underneath the terminal-portion of the camming rod 100, and it is located sufiiciently high abovesaid chain belt to permit the carton to move with its semi-closed cover readily underneath said roller. The consecutive fourrollers 140b, 1400, 140d and'140e are arranged at progressively lower levels toprogressively close the carton cover over the carton body as the carton advances on the chain belt 80-, and each consecutive roller is somewhat displaced toward the right side of the conveyor chain as best shown in Fig. 14 so that the rollers will consecutively contact and. act upon the margin of the. carton cover adjacent its upper front edge as the. progressive lowering of said cover moves. its front edge along a circular are closer toward the front edge of the carton body. The last of the. rollers 140, i.e., roller 140:; is arranged so low above the'conveyor chain 80 that it closes the carton cover fully over the carton body so its slanted front wall 64 lies directly above the inwardly tilted lip 70 of the carton body as shown in Fig. 14, with the protrusions 72 and 74 of thelatter in registry with the recesses 76 and 78, respectively, in the former. The rollers 140a to 1406 may be pivoted to a; bar 144 that is suitably supported from the top portion 89 of the conveyor frame 88 by means of standards 146' and 148, and which may be bent as shown at 150 in Fig. 3 to place the rollers 140a to 1401: into their proper position in a direction transversely of the conveyor advance.

To maintain the lip 70 on the front wall of the carton body in its inwardly tilted position as the cover is closed fully upon the carton body, a rod 154 extending in a direction longitudinally of the conveyor advance may be arranged adjacent the'right side of the conveyor belt 80 at the levelof the upturned lip 70 (Figs. 7 and 8). To mount the rod 154 in such manner that itdoes not interfere with the final cover folding operation, its up stream end is bent outwardly to form a laterally projecting arm 156 that is suitably supported from the top portion 89 of therconveyor'frame '88 adjacent the last of the bending rollers 132 as'best shown in Fig. 8. Lest the carton be tilted out of contact with the chain belt 80 along the left side of the conveyor while the closing rollers 140 act upon the front margin of its cover, a bank of three rollers 158 may be arranged above the chain belt in a position to bear down upon the carton cover in the margin along the upper rear edge 160 thereof as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 7, 8, 12 and 13. Said rollers 158 are pivoted for rotation about transverse horizontal axes to a bar 162 that is suitably supported above the chain belt'80 by standards 164 and 166 which rise from and are adjustably secured to the top portion 89 of the conveyor frame 88.

When the cover is fully closed upon the carton body by the action of the rollers 140a to 140a in the manner described hereinbefore, and the apertures 76 and 78 in the front wall 64 of the carton cover lie directly in front of the protrusions 72 and 74, respectively, of lip 70 as pointed out above, said protrusions will snap onto and interlock with said apertures as soon as the conveyor 26 advances the carton beyond the lip retaining rod 154 due to the fact that the lip when released by said rod will tend to return to its original position and endeavor to swing outwardly. Thus, carton cover is dependably locked in closed position.

During performance of the described carton closing mechanism the camming rod 100 and the various rollers that bear upon the carton cover may somewhat retard the advance of the carton cover as compared with the advance of the carton body with the result that the apertures in the front wall of the cover may not accurately register with the protrusions on the inwardly tilted lip 70 of the carton body. In such an event the protrusions on the lip may fail to interlock with the apertures in the front wall of the cover as the carton moves past the retaining rod 154. To re-establish proper alignment of the carton cover with the carton body and thus enable the protrusions on the lip 70 to-interlock with the apertures in the front wall of the carton cover, means may be. provided in'accordance with the invention that twist the carton slightly before it emerges fully from underneath the cover closing rollers 140. This may be accomplished by providing a slight elevation of the right side of the chain belt at a point beyond the last ofthe carton closing rollers a distance less than the dimension of the carton in the direction of the conveyor advance. Having reference to Figs. 1 and 15, a bar 170' of metal, wood or the; like is placed underneath the chain belt 80 to raiseits right edge briefly to a slightly higher level as indicated at 172. When the leading portion of a carton passes. over this elevation .172 in the belt 80 while-the trailing portion of its closed cover is still engaged by the last closing roller 140e, the leading portion of the carton is twisted relative to its trailing portion about an axis extending longitudinally of the conveyor advance. This is effective to re-establish proper alignment between the. carton body and the cover, and as a result the protrusions 72 and 74 in the carton l'ip are able to snap onto the apertures 76 and 78, respectively, in the front. wall of the carton cover and securely lock the cover in closed position.

Operation While the operation of the machine of the invention has been described concurrently with the description of its structure and component mechanisms, it will now be briefly recapitulated' to facilitate an understanding of the principles of the invention.

A filled carton travelling upon conveyor 20 with its cover 24 folded backwardly and in trailing position, is pushed by one of the impeller members 46 of said conveyor upon the transversely extending chain belt 80 of conveyor 26, and from now'on it travels endwise with its end wall 56' in leading position, the front wall 50 of its body portion facing the right side of the conveyor 26 and its open 'backwardly folded cover 24 projecting beyond the left side of said conveyor as viewed in the. direction of the conveyor advance. When travelling upon the conveyor 26 in the described position, the backwardly folded cover 24 of the carton slides over the initial portion 106 of the camming rod which slants toward the left side of the conveyor and which engages the cover, as the carton advances further onthe conveyor 26, and raises said cover into the upwardly directed position illustrated in 'Figs. 4 and 10, while the freely rotatable disc 108 engages the upper edge of therear wall of the carton body and provides an abutment about which the carton cover may be folded and which prevents the carton from tipping laterally about its right bottom edge.

As the carton continues to advance upon conveyor 26, the cover comes against the diagonally descending terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100 which folds the cover into a semi-closed position as illustrated in Figs. 5, 11 and 12, while the rollers 116 and the extension 124 of bars 118a, 118b hold the carton securely upon the chain belt 80 of the conveyor by engaging the crest of the center partition 60 thereof. At the same time the outwardly turned lip 70 at the upper edge of the front wall 50 of the carton body comes against the gently rising twisted camming bar at the right side of thechain belt 80'and as the carton moves past said bar, the lip 70- is bent into an upwardly directed position while the cartonis held in properly centered position upon the chain belt by the rollers 138 as likewise shown'in Figs. 5, 11 and 12. As the carton continues to advance upon the chain belt and before it has moved beyond the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100, its upwardly bent lip 70 encounters the bank of rollers 132a to 132d which push the lip progressively into the inwardly tilted position illustrated in Fig. 13 wherein said lip lies inwardly of, and substantially parallel to, the slanting front wall 64 of the descending cover.

As the carton with its cover in semi-closed position emerges from underneath the terminal portion 114 of the camming rod 100, the leading front corner of the cover encounters and slides underneath the first 140:: of the diagonally arranged rollers 140 and as the carton continues to advance and the margin adjacent the upper front edge of its cover encounters the successively lower rollers 14012 to 140e, while the lip 70 at the front wall 50 of the carton body is held in its inwardly tilted position by the retaining rod 154, the carton cover is closed fully upon the filled carton body until its slanting front wall 64 lies directly above the outer surface of said lip (Fig. 14). During this final cover closing operation the carton is held in its proper position upon the chain belt 80 by the rollers 158 that bear down upon the carton cover along the margin adjacent rear edge thereof as shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 14. As the carton moves beyond the lip-retaining rod 154 at the right side of the chain belt 80, said lip is released from the restraining effect of said rod and endeavors to return to its original position due to the resiliency of the material from which the carton is made. As a result thereof, the protrusions 72 and 74 formed in said lip snap onto the corresponding apertures 76 and 78 in the front wall of the carton cover which overlies said lip, so that the cover is properly locked in closed position and remains closed after the carton has emerged fully from underneath the cover bending rollers 140. It is now impossible for eggs to spill out accidentally when the carton is handled by the packer, retailer or consumer.

In cases where the protrusions 72 and 74 on the lip of a carton are not properly aligned with their corresponding apertures 76 and 78 in the front wall of the carton I cover due to relative displacement of carton body and the carton cover, the twist to which the carton is subjected as the right side of its body encounters the elevation 172 in the chain belt 80 while the trailing portion of its cover is still engaged by the last of cover closing rollers 140, is usually suificient to establish realignment of carton body and carton cover, and as a result thereof the protrusions on the lips of such a carton that have not previously engaged their respective apertures in the front wall of the carton cover, will not engage said apertures and securely lock the cover in closed position.

With the cover closed fully upon the egg-filled carton body and locked securely in closed position in the manner described, the chain belt may now deliver the carton to a take-off conveyor, rarnp or packing platform (not shown).

The described carton closing mechanism is rapid, smooth and dependable in operation, it is of a very simple and inexpensive construction, and it requires no power driven elements other than the conveyor itself.

While I have described my invention with the aid of an exemplary embodiment thereof, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the specific constructional details shown and described which may be departed from without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. A machine for closing and locking the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with means adapted to interlock with corresponding means in the front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton in edgewise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of its advance; camming means for bending the cover from its backwardly folded position into a semiclosed position relative to the carton body as it travels on said carton advancing means, means adjacent said carton advancing means on the side of the outwardly turned lip of a carton travelling thereon for bending the outwardly turned lip of the carton into an inwardly slanted position, means adjoining said lip-turning means for retaining the co) lip of a carton travelling on said carton advancing means temporarily in its inwardly slanted position, and means for closing the cover fully upon the carton body so that its front portion overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and the lip, when released from said retaining means, bears against said front portion and causes engagement of said interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and on said lips.

2. A machine for closing and locking the cover of an egg carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into corresponding apertures in a front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of its advance; camming means for bending the cover from its backwardly folded position into a semiclosed position relative to the carton body as it travels on said carton advancing means, means adjacent said carton advancing means on the side of the outwardly turned lip of a carton travelling thereon for bending the outwardly turned lip of a carton into an inwardly slanted position, means adjoining said lip-turning means for retaining the lip of a carton travelling on said carton advancing means temporarily in its inwardly slanted posi tion, and means for closing the cover fully upon the carton body so that its front portion overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and that as the carton advances past said retaining means the lip released from said retaining means bears against said front portion and engages its protrusions into the apertures of said front wall.

3. A machine for closing and locking the walled cover of a carton having a carton body to whose. rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into corresponding apertures in the front wall of the carton cover, comprising means for advancing the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transverse of its advance; camming means for bending the carton cover from its backwardly folded position into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body as it travels on said carton advancing means, means for retaining the carton in its proper position upon said carton advancing means as it is acted upon by said camming means, means in the terminal region of said camming means adjacent said carton advancing means on the side of the outwardly turned lip of a carton travelling thereon for successively bending the outwardly turned lip of a carton into substantially upright and inwardly slanted positions, means adjoining said lip-turning means for retaining the lip of a carton travelling on said carton advancing means temporarily in its inwardly slanted position, means for closing the cover fully upon the carton body so that its front wall overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and the lip when released from said retaining means, as the carton advances past said retaining means, bears against said front wall and engages its protrusions into the apertures of said front wall, and means for holding the carton in its proper position upon said carton advancing means as its cover is acted upon by said cover closing means.

4. As part of a machine for closing the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which forms parallel rows of egg receiving pockets divided by a center partition; an arrangement for bending the carton cover from a backwardly folded position into a semi-closed position comprising a belt arranged to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of the advance of said belt, an initial camming rod portion slanting from a point laterally removed from the cover side of the carton on the belt to a point adjacent the rear wall of the carton body at a level above the hinge line of the coveron the carton to fold the cartoncover into a substantially upright position as the carton advances upon said belt, a disc slanting in a direction away from the hinge line of the carton on the belt rotatably supported above said belt and arranged to engage the top edge of the rear wall of the carton body adjacent the hinge line thereof as said initial camming'rod portion acts upon the carton cover, a terminal carnming rod portion extending diagonally across said belt to bend the upright carton cover into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body as the carton advances further on said belt, and a number of discs rotatably supported above said belt for engaging the crest of the carton body partition to retain the carton in its proper position on the belt while its cover is acted upon by said terminal camming rod portion.

5. As part of a machine for closing the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which forms parallel rows of egg receiving pockets divided by a center partition; an arrangement for bending the carton cover from a backwardly folded position into a semi-closed position comprising a chain belt arranged to advance-the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of the advance of said belt, an initial camming rod portion slanting from a point laterally removed from the cover side of the carton on the belt to a point adjacent the rear wall of the carton body at a level above the hinge line of the cover on the carton to fold the carton cover into a substantially upright position as the carton advances upon said belt, a disc slanting in a direction away from the hinge line of the carton on the chain belt rotatably supported above saidbelt and arranged ,to engage the top edge of the rear wall of the carton body adjacent the hinge line thereof as said initial camming rod portion acts upon the carton cover, a terminal camming rod portion extending diagonally across said-belt to bend the upright carton cover into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body as the carton'advances further on said belt, a number of discs rotatably supported above said belt, and a plate having a downwardly slanting upper edge adjoining said discs on the downstream side thereof forengatging the crest of the carton body partition to retain the carton inits proper position on the belt while its cover is acted upon by said terminal cammingrod portion. 7

6. Aspa'rt of a machine for fully closing and locking the semi-closed cover of a carton having a body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached andwhich has a lip along the top edge of its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in a front portion of the carton cover; an arrangement comprising means adapted to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted at points progressively closer to the front Wall of a carton travelling on said carton advancing means to bend the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said carton advancing means into an inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extending a limited distance in the direction of the advance of said carton advancing means to retain the lip of a carton travelling on said cartonadvancing means temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, and a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about consecutively lower transverse axes above said carton advancing means 'to successively engage the cover of the carton travelling on said carton advancing means and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances beyond said lipretaining rod so that the front portion of the cover overlies the in'wardly slanted lip of the carton body and said "10 lip upon release from said rod engages its protrusions into the apertures of said front portion.

7. As part of a machine for fully closing and locking the semi-closed walled cover of a carton having a body whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached andwhich has a lip along the top edge of its front wall provided; with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in the front wall of the carton cover; an arrangement comprising, a belt adapted to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path, a bank of progressively in- Wardly turned rollers mounted at points progressively closer to the front wall of a carton travelling on said belt to bend the. upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt into an, inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extending alimited distance in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of a carton travelling on said belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, and a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about consecutively lower transverse axes above said belt in a line extending diagonally across a portion of said belt to successively engage the area adjacent the upper front edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton-body as the-car ton advances beyond said; lip-retaining rod so that the front wall of the cover overlies the inwardly-slanted lip of the carton body and said lip upon release from said rod engages its protrusions into the apertures of said front wall. v I

8. As part of a machine for fully closing and locking the semi-closed walled cover of a carton having a body to whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which has a lip along the .top edge of its front wallprovided with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in the front wall of the carton-cover; an arrangement comprising a a chain belt adapted, to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted at points progressively closer to the frontwall of a carton travelling on said belt to bend the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt into an inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extending a limited distnce in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of a carton travel 1mg, on said belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted p0- sition as the carton. moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about conseeutively lower transverse axes above said belt in a line extending diagonally across a portion of said belt to successively engage the area adjacent the upper front edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances beyond said lip-retaining rod so that the front wall of the coveroverlies the inwardly'slanted lip of the carton body and said lip upon release from said rod engages its protrusions into the apertures of said front wall, and roller means engaging a region adacent the rear corner of the carton cover for holding the cartonin its proper position upon said belt as its cover is acted upon by said cover-closing rollers.

9. As part of a machine for closing and locking the semi-closed cover of a carton having a body to whose rear wall the-cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along the top edge of its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in a front portion of the cover; an arrangement comprising a belt adapted to advance the carton in endwise, position along a predetermined path, a twisted camming bar arranged adjacent said belt on the side of the outwardly turned lip of the carton travelling on said belt to bend the lip of the carllll ton on said belt into a substantially upright position, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted beyond said twisted camming bar at points progressively closer to the front wall of a carton travelling on said belt to engage the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt successively with their peripheral edges and bend it into an inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extend ing a limited distance in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of a carton travelling on said belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about consecutively lower transverse axes above said belt to successively engage the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances past said lip-retaining rod so that the front portion of the cover overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and said lip upon release from said retaining rod bears against said front wall and engages its protru sions with the apertures in said front portion, and means for holding the carton in its proper position upon said belt as its cover is acted upon by said cover-closing rollers including a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about vertical axes adjacent the hinge line side of the belt with their peripheral edges in contact with the hinge line of the carton travelling on said belt.

10. As part of a machine for closing and locking the semi-closed walled cover of a carton having a body to whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along the top edge of its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in the front wall of the carton cover; an arrangement comprising a belt adapted to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path, a twisted camming bar arranged adjacent said belt on the side of the outwardly turned lip of the carton travelling on said belt to bend the lip of the carton on said belt into a substantially upright position, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted beyond said twisted camming bar at points progressively closer to the front wall of a carton travelling on said belt to engage the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt successively with their peripheral edges and bend it into an inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extending a limited distance in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of a carton travelling on said belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, and a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about consecutively lower transverse axes above said belt in a line extending diagonally across a portion of said belt on the side thereof corresponding to the front wall of the carton travelling thereon from a point substantially in transverse alignment with the last of said lip-bending rollers to successively engage the area adjacent the upper front edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton body, as the carton advances past said lip-retaining rod, so that the front wall of the cover overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body' and said lip upon release from said retaining rod bears against said front wall and engages its protrusions with the apertures in said front wall.

11. Arrangement according to claim including a mechanism for insuring engagement of the protrusions on the inwardly turned lip of the body of a carton travelling on said chain belt with the apertures in the overlying front wall of the closed cover as the carton moves beyond said lip-retaining rod, said mechanism comprising means for elevating one side of the belt at a point beyond the last of said cover-closing rollers by a distance less than the dimension of the carton in a direction longitudinally of its advance.

12. As part of a machine for closing and locking the semi-closed walled cover of a carton having a body to whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along the top edge of its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into and interlock with corresponding apertures in the front wall of the carton cover; an arrangement comprising a belt adapted to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path, a twisted camming bar arranged adjacent said belt on the side of the outwardly turned lip of the carton travelling on said belt to bend the lip of the carton on said belt into a substantially upright position, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted beyond said twisted camming bar at points progressively closer to the front wall of a carton travelling on said belt to engage the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt successively with their peripheral edges and bend it into an inwardly slanted position, a rod mounted adjacent the last of said lip-bending rollers and extending a limited distance in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of a carton travelling on said belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about consecutively lower transverse axes above said belt in a line extending diagonally across a portion of said belt on the side thereof corresponding to the front wall of the carton travelling thereon from a point substantially in transverse alignment with the last of said lip-bending rollers to successively engage the area adjacent the upper front edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances past said lip-retaining rod so that the front wall of the cover overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and said lip upon release from said retaining rod bears against said front wall and engages its protrusions with the apertures in said front wall, and means for holding the carton in its proper position upon said belt as its cover is acted upon by said cover-closing rollers including a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about vertical axes adjacent the hinge line side of the belt with their peripheral edges in contact with the hinge line of the carton travelling on said belt, and a bank of rollers mounted above said chain belt for rotation about transverse axes with their peripheral edges in contact with an area adjacent the rear corner of the cover as said cover is closed fully upon the carton body by said cover-closing rollers.

13. Arrangement according to claim 12 including a mechanism for insuring engagement of the protrusions on the inwardly turned lip of the body of a carton travelling on said belt with the apertures in the overlying front wall of the closed cover as the carton moves beyond said lip-retaining rod, said mechanism comprising means for briefly elevating the belt at the side of the front Wall of the carton travelling thereon at a point beyond the last of said cover-closing rollers by a distance less than the dimension of the carton in a direction longitudinally of its advance.

14. A machine for closing and locking the walled cover of an egg carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which forms two parallel rows of egg receiving pockets divided by a center partition and has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into corresponding apertures in the front wall of the cover, said machine comprising a belt arranged to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of the advance of said belt; means for bending the carton cover from its backwardly folded position into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body including an initial camming rod portion slanting from a point laterally removed from the rear wall of the carton on said belt to a point adjacent said, rearwall at a; level! above the hinge-line of the carton coveron: the carton body to.-fo1d; the cover intoa substantially uprightposition, asthe car-ton advances upon said, belt, a disc slanting in a direction away from the hingeline of the carton on said chain belt rotatably supported above said belt and arranged to engage the top edgeof the rear wall of the carton body adjacent said hingeline as saidrinitial, camrning rod portion acts upon the carton cover to retain the carton.- in its proper position upon said belt, a terminal camming rod portion. descendirig diagonally across said belt to bend the upright carton cover into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body-as the carton advances: further on said belt, and rollermeans supported above said. belt for engaging the crest ofthe carton body partition to. retain the carton in itsproper position on said. belt while itsicover is. acted upon by the terminal camming rod portion; a twisted camming bar arranged adjacent said belt on thev side of the. outwardly turned. lip of a carton travelling on saidbelt, in the region of said terminal camming rod portion to, bend. the; lip, of a carton. on said. belt into a. sub st an-. tiallyupright position, a bank of progressively inwardly turned rollers mounted beyond said twisted. camming bar at points progressively closer to the front wall. of a, carton travelling on said belt to, bend, the upwardly turned lip of a carton travelling on said belt into an inwardly slanted position, a, rod: mounted adjacent.- the-last of said lip-bending rollersand extending a limited distance in the direction of the advance of said belt to retain the lip of acarton; travelling on said' belt temporarily in its inwardly slanted position as the carton moves beyond said lip-bending rollers, abankof rollers mounted; for rotationabout consecutively-lower-transverse axes above said belt in a line extending diagonally across a portion of said belt to successively engage the area adjacent the upper front edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travelling on said belt and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances beyond said lip-retaining rod so that its front wall overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body and said lip upon release from said retaining rod bears against said front wall and engages its protrusions into the apertures thereof; and means for holding the carton in its proper position upon said belt as its cover is acted upon by said cover-closing rollers including a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about vertical axes adjacent the hinge line side of said belt with their peripheral edges in contact with the hinge line area of the body of the carton travelling on said belt and a bank of rollers mounted above said belt for rotation about transverse axes with their peripheral edges in contact with an area adjacent the upper rear edge of the cover as said cover is fully closed upon the carton body.

15. A machine for closing and locking the walled cover of an egg carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the rear wall of the cover is hingedly attached and which forms two parallel rows of egg receiving pockets divided by a center partition and has an outwardly turned lip along its front Wall provided with protrusions adapted to fit into corresponding apertures in the front wall of the cover, said machine comprising a belt arranged to advance the carton in endwise position along a predetermined path with its backwardly folded cover extending in a direction transversely of the advance of said belt; means for bending the carton cover from its backwardly folded position into a semi-closed position relative to the carton body including an initial camming rod portion slanting from a point laterally removed from the rear wall of the carton on said belt to a point adjacent said rear wall at a level above the hinge line of the carton cover on the carton body to fold the cover into a substantially upright position as the carton advances upon said belt, a disc slanting in a direction away from the hinge line of the carton on said chain belt rotatably supported above said belt and arranged to engage the top edge of the rear wall of the carton body adjacent said hinge, line as'said' initial camming rod portion acts, upon the cartons cover. to, retain the, cartonin its, proper. position upon, said. belt, a terminal cam; ming rod, portion. descending diagonally, across said belt to bend the upright carton cover. into a semi-closed. posi: tion relative. to the carton. body as the carton advances further on, said belt, and: roller, means, supported above said beltfor engaging the crest of the, carton, body part tition to retain the carton in its. proper position onsaid belt, while its cover is acted upon by the terminal camming rod portion; a, twisted camming bararranged adjacent said: belt on the side of the outwardlyv turned, lip of; a carton travelling on said belt in. the region of said terminal. camming rod portion, tobend the lip, of acarton on said. belt into. a substantially uprightposition ahank of progressively inwardly turned rollers. mountedbeyond said twisted camming bar at points progressively closer to the front wall, of a. carton travelling on said belt. to bend. the upwardly turned, lip of av carton travelling on said belt into an inwardly slanted. position, a. rod mountedv adjacent, the last; of said lip-bending rollers. and. extending a: limited distance in the direction of theadvance of said belt toretain the lip of a. carton travelling. onsaid belt temporarily in itsinwardly slanted position as the canton movesbeyond said, lip-bending rollers, a. bank, of rollers. mounted, for rotation about, consecutively lower transverse axes, above said belt in a. line. extending. diagonally across a, portion of said belt, to. successively engage the area adjacent theiupper. front, edge of the semi-closed cover of the carton travellingjon said belt and close it fully upon the carton body as the carton advances beyond said lip-retaining rod so.that its front wall overlies the inwardly slanted lip of" the carton body and said lip upon release from said retaining rod bears against said front wall and engages its protrusions into the apertures thereof, means for holding the carton in its proper position upon said chain belt as its cover is acted upon by said cover-closing rollers including a bank of rollers mounted for rotation about vertical axes adjacent the hinge line side of said belt with their peripheral edges in contact with the hinge line area of the body of the carton travelling on said belt and a bank of rollers mounted above said belt for rotation about transverse axes with their peripheral edges in contact with an area adjacent the upper rear edge of the cover as said cover is fully closed upon the carton body by said cover-closing rollers; and mechanism effective to insure engagement of the protrusions in the inwardly turned lip of the carton body with the apertures in the overlying front wall of the closed carton cover as the carton moves beyond said lip-retaining rod, including means for briefly elevating the belt at the side of the front wall of the carton travelling thereon at a point beyond the last of said coverclosing rollers by a distance less than the dimesion of the carton longitudinally of the conveyor advance.

16. An arrangement for closing and locking the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with means adapted to interlock with corresponding means in the front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton along a predetermined path, means adjacent said carton advancing means for bending the outwardly turned lip of the carton body into an inwardly slanted position, and means for moving the cover downwardly to a position overlying the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body so that the lip, when released from said bending means, bears against said front portion of the cover to cause engagement :between the interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and the inter locking means on the lip of the carton body.

17. An arrangement for closing and locking the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with means adapted to interlock with corresponding means in the front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton along a predetermined path, means adjacent said carton advancing means for bending the outwardly turned lip of the carton body into an inwardly slanted position, means adjoining said lip-turning means for temporarily retaining the lip in its inwardly slanted position as said carton travels on said carton advancing means, and means for closing the cover fully upon the carton body so that its front portion overlies the inwardly slanted lip of the carton body, whereby said lip, when released by said retaining means, bears against said front portion of the cover to cause engagement between the interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and the interlocking means on the lip of the carton body.

18. An arrangement for closing and locking the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has a lip along its front wall provided With means adapted to interlock with corresponding means in the front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton along a predetermined path, and means adjacent said carton advancing means for consecutively bending the lip of the carton body to a predetermined position over the carton body and moving the cover downwardly over the lip of the carton body and into engagement therewith to cause engagement between the interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and the interlocking means on the lip of the carton body.

19. In a machine for closing and locking the cover of a carton having a carton body to whose rear wall the cover is hingedly attached and which has an outwardly turned lip along its front wall provided with means adapted to interlock with corresponding means in the front portion of the cover, comprising means for advancing the carton along a predetermined path, means adjacent said carton advancing means for bending the lip of the carton body inwardly to a predetermined position, a rod mounted adjacent said last means and extending in the direction of advance of the carton on said advancing means to retain temporarily the lip of the carton in the inward position, and means for closing the cover fully upon the carton body so that its front portion overlies the lip of the carton body, whereby said lip, when released by said rod, bears against said front portion of the cover and causes engagement between the interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and the interlocking means on the lip of the carton body.

20. An arrangement according to claim 16 including a mechanism for insuring the engagement between the interlocking means on the front portion of the cover and the interlocking means on the lip of the carton body, said mechanism comprising means for elevating one side of the carton advancing means at a point beyond the downstream end of the cover depressing means by a distance less than the dimension of the carton in a direction longitudinally of its advance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,994,241 Burger Mar. 21, 1935 2,091,426 Benoit Aug. 31, 1937 2,261,767 Johnson Nov. 4, 1951 2,598,135 Schmied May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noo 2309,8530 October 27,, 1959 Harold J, Mumma It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 5, line 63, after 'Thusfl insert the column 7, line 65 for "edgewise" reed endwise column 10, line 46, for "distnce" read distance Signed and sealed this 6th day of December 1960.

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE Attesting Oflicer ROBERT C. WATSGN Commissioner of Patents 

